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Live-Action Patlabor Feature Film's Footage Unveiled
posted on by Kyle Cardine
Special footage from Mamoru Oshii's live-action feature-length The Next Generation -Patlabor- film was presented at the Tokyo International Film Festival this past weekend.
The story involves Section 2 Division 2 tracking down and fighting a terrorist who takes 10 million citizens in Tokyo hostage. The footage features a pitched battle between two Ingrams and a "metallic" helicopter.
Oshii is directing and writing the feature-length film that will open during Japan's Golden Week holidays in spring 2015, and is expected to run about 100 minutes long. It will be the first Japanese film to feature a Dolby Atmos soundtrack for multidimensional surround sound.
The live-action project began earlier this year with a seven-part series, which is composed of the "episode 0" and 12 full episodes helmed by chief director Mamoru Oshii and other directors. Each full episode is about 48 minutes long.
The project's fifth part premiered in Japan on October 18 and includes episode 8, "Enkyori Sogeki 2000" (Long-range Sniping 2000), and episode 9, "Crocodile Dungeon." The sixth part of the live-action film project will open in Japanese theaters on November 29.
Oshii commented that the seven-part series will have a "slapstick" ambiance, while the feature film will be serious. Oshii and Kei Yamamura are writing the scripts for the series, and Kenji Kawai is returning to the franchise to compose the music for both the series and the feature film.
The Next Generation -Patlabor- project is not a remake of the earlier Patlabor anime stories, but a completely new work. The story is set in Tokyo in 2013, and it represents the "third generation" of Patlabor. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police has disbanded its Section 2 Division 1 of police robots, and Section 2 Division 2 barely survived the budget cuts due to the long recession.
Former Hello! Project singer and actress Erina Mano stars as pilot Akira Izumino (as opposed to the earlier anime's heroine Noa Izumi). The cast also includes Seiji Fukushi as Yūma Shiobara, Rina Oota as Ekaterina Krachevna Kankaeva ("Kasha") from Russia, Shigeru Chiba reprising his anime role as maintenance crew chief Shigeo Shiba, and Toshio Kakei as Captain Keiji Gotōda (the successor to the anime's Captain Kiichi Gotō).
The Patlabor franchise's original concept of police officers piloting robotic mecha (patrol labors or "Patlabors") was developed by HEADGEAR, a group consisting of director Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Sky Crawlers), script writer Kazunori Itō (.hack, Dirty Pair), mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi (Eureka Seven, Mobile Suit Gundam franchise), character designer Akemi Takada (Kimagure Orange Road, Urusei Yatsura, Fancy Lala), and manga creator Masami Yuuki (Birdy the Mighty). The franchise spawned two original video anime, a television anime series, and three anime films. The last anime film, Patlabor WXIII, was released in theaters in Japan in 2002.
Source: Comic Natalie
